Being born in the late ‘80s, I watched as colors washed out of new car lots, fading from reds and forest greens into an endless parade of silvers and grays. This may be why I get excited about even the most mundane new tones on cars today, like this slate blue.

It’s kind of like a gray navy, and there’s really not much to it. I’ve most recently saw some variation of the color on a Nissan Rogue (in Arctic Blue) and on a Mercedes Maybach S560 (in Anthracite Blue), so it’s good to know that this is a look that’s spanning the whole range of cars on sale. Most of the time Anthracite Blue just looks like a charming dark slate sort of color, until it—oooh—doesn’t. Arctic blue is more of just a well-rounded blue that’s not as flashy or flat as a plain navy or a true blue.

In any case, it’s a nice addition to the colors of the car world, a fine add to go along with the charming browns we’re seeing more of these days. Let us continue to break the hegemony of silver! To come: yellow?